Bell-hoist



F. HYMANS.

BELL HOIST.

APPucATloN HLED msc. 14. 1911.

'1,309,6 32. Patented July 15, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

F. HYMANS.

BELL HOIST. APPUcAnoN HLED 1150.14.19. 1,309,632. Pntented July 15,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FREDERICK HYMANS, OF GLEN RIDG'E, NEW JEBSEY.

BELL-HOIST.

Specifleation of Letters Patent.

Patented July 15, 1919.

Application med December 14, 1917. serial No. 207,044.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERIGK I-IYMANS, a citizen of the Netherlands,residing in Glen Ridge, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bell-Hoists, of whichthefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to bell hoisting mechanism for use in' connectionwith blast furnaces. An object of this invention is to provide anapparatus of the above-notedl character involving certain improvedfeatures of construction such as will materially reduee the duty imposedon the hoisting mechanism, permitting the use of a comparatively light,high speed hoisting machine, and correspondingly light hoisting cableand other various parts involved in the opening and closing of the bell.A further object is the provision of means to automatically preventexcessive strains on the bell apparatus and hoisting mechanism, when inthe closing of the bell, lumps of ore or other material become caughtbetween the bell and its seat. Other objects of my inventionwill appearhereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, F1gure 1 shows a type of bell hoistingapparatus now used, and upon which my invention is an improvement. Fig.2 shows a preferred form of my invention, and Figs. 3 and 4 are modi-'fications of my improved apparatus shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a wiringdiagram of the circuits for electrical apparatus which enters into theinvention. Similar characters of reference indieate like partsthroughout the several figures.

Referring to Fig. 1, I show a conventional type of furnace top 1, with ahopper 2, for receiving a charge of limestone, ore, coke, or othermaterial, and what is known as the large bell 3, seated in the furnacetop. The bell is connected by rod, 4, to one of a lever, 5, which leveris mounted on a beam 6 at pivotal support 7, and carries at its oppositeend a weight 8 of suflicient mass to counterbalance the weight of therod 4 and bell 3, plus the weight of the load of material restingthereon, the latter being not shown in the drawing, and to provide inaddition a suflicient force to close the bell Aagainst the resistanceofl'ered by the material in the hopper 2, and to maintain a heavysealing pressure to hold the bell tight in its seat. Th'e hoistingmachine 9 comprises a double throw Crank 10, rotated by a motor 11through a train of gears 12. A brake 13 is provided to hold the bell inan open position. The crank is connected with a hoisting cable 14 whichleads over a stationary sheave 15 to a hitch 16 on the lever 5.

In the apparatus described, since the stroke of the crank is necessarilylimited, and since only one half a revolution of the crank is availablefor use, it will be seen that to obtain a sufiiciently large movement ofthe bell the hitch 16 must be situated comparatively close to thefulcrum of the lever 5. As a. consequence the stress imposed on thehoisting cable in Operating the bell is very great, and the hoistingmachine used must be of heavy construction with respect to gears, shaftsand bearings, and therefore expensive. Moreover, since the distance ofmovement of the erank is so limited its circumferential speed in thehoisting operation must be low, requiring a large ratio of gearingbetween the driving motor and the erank, necessitatin an expensivemultiplication of parts. A urther disadvant'age of this apparatus isthat When in the closing of the bell, lumps of material become caughtbetween the bell and its seat the hoisting machine will Continue tooperate, causing the cable 14 to become slack. Then if the obstructionbecomcs suddenly dislodged, weight 8 will dro through a distancecommensurate with t e size of the, obstruction, causing the bell to slamagainst its seat and causing excessive shocks and strains on all partsof the mechanism involved.

In Fig. 2, show a preferred construction of my invention in which all ofthe disadvantages of the apparatus pointed out in F ig. 1 are overcome.Similarly as in Fig; 1, I show a furnace top 1, hopper 2, large bell 3,supporting rod 4 connected with one end of a lever 5, which is pivotallymounted on a beam 6 at support 7. At a point A preferably at the extremeopposite end of lever 5, I fix a sheave 17, and on the lever, betweenthe sheave 17 and support 7, I place a relatively small counterweight 18sufiicient in mass to counterbalance with the aid of the 'weight's ofsheave 17, only a part of the weight of the bell, bell rod, and lever,so that in the absence of other forces acting on the lever, the bellwill open. It will be obvious that the weight 18 may be dispensed withif desired. One end of a hoisting cable 19 is hitched to the lever 5 atpoint A, passing thence down under a sheave 20, mounted on a weight 21,which I shall call the sealing weight, since its function is to hold thebell sealed against its seat. The travel of weight 2'1 in a downwarddirection is limited by an abutment 22. The hoisting cable passes thenceup over sheave 17 and down to a hitch on a hoisting drum 23 of ahoisti-ng machine 24. The latter in its preferred form comprises a motor25 which drives the hoisting drum 23 through a worm gearing means 26.Spur gearing may be used if desired. I provide an electromagneticallyreleased brake 27 to hold the drum stationary, when the motor is notrunning. A cable 28 is hitched to the opposite side of the drum andpasses up over a sheave 29 to a counterweight 30 of a mass sufficient toequalize the duty of the hoisting machine in lowering and raising' thebell. Electrical contacts 31 operated by the weight 21 are so arrangedthat when the latte'r has been raised a given distance preferably quitesmall, above abutment 22, the circuits for the motor and brake will beopened, causing' the weight to remain, when hoisted, at a fixed distanceabove the abutment. Cams 32 and 33, rotated by the hoisting machine, arearranged to actuate electric switches 34 and 35respectively forautomatically stopping the motor and applying the brake when the bellhas been opened a predetermined distance, and for controlling thespeed-of the motor in a manner hereinafter described.

The operation of the apparatus shown in F ig. 2 is as fo'llows: To lowerthe bell 3, the hoisting drum 23 is rotated in the direction indicatedby the arrow with the result that the sealing weight 21 is lowered untilit rests on the abutment 22. This removes the efl'ect of the sealingweight and further rotation of the drum will permit the bell to open,since as explained before, the weight of the bell is not altogethercompensated for by the weights on the opposite side of lever 5. To closethe now opened bell ythe direction .of rotation of the hoisting drum isreversed.

The bell will be gradually closed, and after it is brought up againstits seat the further rotation of the drum will cause weight 21 to belifted ofi' the abutment 22, thus again establishing the sealingpressure. The operation of motor 25 and brake 27 is controlled by manualand automatic apparatus shown diagrammatically in Fig. 5, the rotationof the motor in both directions being' automatically stopped atpredetermined points, and the speed of the same being automaticallydecreased at the time of the seating of the bell and of the movement `ofweight 21. I show here one system of wlring for accomplishing thedesired results by.

the use of a direct current motor. Obviously any other type of motormight be used for the same purpose in connection with a suitable systemof wiring. In Fig. 5, a manual double-throw Operating switch 36 occupiesthe position shown to effect a closing of the bell, and is thrown overto effect an opening' of the same. Reversing switches 37 and 38 completecircuits for the motor and brake to effect an opening and elosing of thebell, respectively. An accelerating' switch 39 is connected in awell-known manner across the motor armature 25' for the purpose ofStepping out the starting' resistance 40. A fast and slow speed switch41 is arranged to introduce the resistance 42 into `series with themotor field '25" for increasing the speed of the motor, and to cut outthe said resistance to decrease the motor speed. The switches 34 and 35are actuated by the cams 32 and 33 respectively, which are rotated bythe hoisting machine in the direction indicated by the arrows in theoperation of the opening of the bell. Contacts 31 are so arranged inconnection with the weight 21. that the electrical contact is made whilethe weight occupies any position below a fixed point, at which pointafter the weight has been raised oif lthe abutment 22, the contact isbroken. The apparatus is here shown in the position occupied when thebell is closed and at rest. To open the bell, the Operating switch 36 isthrown over completing a circuit for the reversing switch 37 from theplus main, conductor 43, mag'- net of switch 37, conductor 44, switch34, conductor 45, switch 3'6, conductor 46 to the minus main., Theoperation of switch 37 closes circuits for the motor armature 25', motorfield 25", and for the magnet of brake 27, which operate as alreadydescribed to open the bell. Since the resistance 42' is short circuitedthrough switch 41, the motor starts at low speed, lowering the weight 21onto its abutment and makingr without effect a connection at contacts31. Cams'32 and 33 rotate simultaneously in the direction indicated bythe arrows. Shortly after the weight 21 rests on its abutment, the cam33 engag'es the arm of switch closing the contacts thereof andcompleting a circuit for the switch 41, from the plus main, contacts 47,conductor 48, switch 35, conductor 49, magnet of switch 41, conductor50, conductor 46 to the minus main. The operation of switch 41 insertsthe resistance 42 into series with the motor field 25" causing the motorto rotate at high speed for the remainder of the bell opening operation.When cam 32 engages switch 34, the contacts of the'latter are opened,interrupting the Circuit for reversingg` switch 37 causing` i the saidswitch to open, stopping the motor and applying the-brake. The bell isnow opened with the weight 21 resting on its abutment and the connectionmade at contacts 31. Now to close the bell, the operating` switch isthrown over into the position shown in the drawing', completing acircuit for reversing switch 38 from the plus main, conductor 43, magnetof switch 38, conductor 51, contacts 31, conductor 52, switch 36,conductor 46 to the minus main. The operation of switch 38 completescircuits for the motor` armature 25', motor field 25", and magnet ofbrake 27, which operate as already described to close the bell and sealthe same in its seat by raising the weight 21. The switch 35, being` ina closed position completes a circuit for switch 41 from 'the plus main,contacts 53, conductor 48 and thence as previously traced, causingswitch 41 to operate to insert the resistance 42 into series with themotor field 25", so allowinnr the bell closing operation to start Vathigh speed. The rotation of cams 32 and 33 in the direction opposite tothat indicated by the arrows causes the closing of switch 34 withouteffect, and shortly before the bell is seated causes the opening ofswitch 35, interrupting the circuit for switch 41, causing' the latterto close and short circuit the field resistance 42, causing the motor tooperate at low speed at the time of the seating of the bell and thesubsequent raising of weight 21. When the latter has been raised apredetermined distance, the contacts 31 are opened, interrupting theCircuit for the magnet of switch 38, causing the latter to open, soStepping the motor and applying the brake.

It will be seen that if in the closing` of the bell, lumps of materialbecome caught between the bell and its seat, so preventing a closu're,no shocks or strains on any part of the apparatus can result. When suchan obstruction halts the movement of the bell, the continued rotation ofthe hoisting drum will cause weight 21 to be lifted off the abutment 22similarly vas if no such obstruction had interrupted the operation. Now,if the obstruction becomes suddenly dislodged, the weight 21 will droponto the abutment 22, and the bell will be raised through a smalldistance commensurate with the drop of Weight 21, regardless of the sizeof the obstruction, and at a rate of speed less than that of weight 21.In practice such a dropping of weight 21 would not be suflicient tocause a closing` of the bell, but would serve merely to complete themotor circuits on account of the elosing of contacts 31, and cause aclosing' of the bell and re-raising of the weight 21, similarly as innormal operation.

In Fig. 2, the bell is shown closed and held the weight 21 is equal toonly Also since two leads extend upward from the weight 21, the massthereof need be only If the Weight 21 Were directly attached at thepoint ,A its mass would necessarily have to be equal to P and the stresson the hoisting cable in lifting the weight would likewise be equal toP, whereas with the arrangemcnt shown the same effect in producing theforce P at point A is accomplished by using a weight 21 of a mass equalto of and With a Stress on the hoisting cable of no more than It will beseen that in Fig. 2, the weight 21 travels at one half, and point A atone third of circumferential speed of the hoisting drum. Thus fora givenspeed of movement of the 'hell the speed of the drum 'will have to berelatively high, permitting the use of a cheap, high speed motor withoutrequiring a great ratio of gearing between the motor and drum.` In theCrank type of machine shown in Fig. 1,

in order to obtain the same results that I accomplish in my invention,the weight 8= must be of a mass equal to P, and owing to the limitedstroke of the crank, the hoisting ca'ble must be hitched to the lever 5at a point considerably closer to the fulcrum than the point where theweight is suspended, with a -resultant Stress on the hoisting cableseveral times as great as P.

In View of the foregoing facts and comparisons, it is evident that in myinvention I can employ a hoistinfbr apparatus much smaller and lighterin the construction of all its parts` than that hoisting apparatusrequired in the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

In the modifications shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the construction andoperation is identical as desoribed for Fig. 2 withtlie exception of thearrangement of the hoisting cables and of the masses of the sealingweights. In Fig. 3 the end of cable 19' is hitched to the weight 21'thence passing up over sheave 17 and down to a hitch on the drum 23. InFig. 4 an additional sheave 54 isprovided on the lcver 5 at the point A.One end of the Cable 19" is hitched to the weight 21", passing thence upover sheave 54, down under sheave 20, up over sheave 17, and down to ahitch on the drum 23.

Referring to Fig. 3, in order to produce the required downwardlydirected force P at point A, weight 21' need have a mass of only Whilethe Stress on the Cable 19' Will be equal tol-l. The weight 21 Willtravel at the same speed and the point A at one half of theCircumferential speed of the hoisting drum. Referring to Fig. 4, adownwardly directed force P is produced at point A by a weight 21" of amass equal to and With a Stress on the hoisting Cable of 4. The Weight21" willtravel at one third,

such increased leads the rates of travel ofv the sealing weight and ofpoint A will de- Crease accordingly. With any number, n, leads betweenthe sealing weight and the point A, at which point a downwardly directedforce P is required, the mass of the sealing weight will be equal to32%,' and the Stress on the hoisting Cable will be equal to ,T l. Alsothe Sealing Weight will move at 1 7; and the pomt A at n 1 ential speedof the hoisting drum. In view of the necessarily increased size of thesea]- ing weight with increased leads in the hoisting Cable, I haveselected the Construction shown in Fig. 2 as the preferned form of myinvention. In Figs. 2, 3, and 4 I have shown the sealing weights 21,21', 21" as sectional, and have assumed a required downwardly directedforce P at point A, equal to the mass of twelve Sections. according tothe formulae previously given, the required number of Sections in therespective sealing weights are eight, six and n1ne.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in thedetails, arrangement and construction of parts in such apparatus asdescribed without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Idesire therefore not to be limitedito the exact constructions hereindescribed.

I Claim:

1. In bell hoisting apparatus, a bell and means to actuate the samecomprising a lever supporting the bell, a sheave mounted on the lever, asealing weight, a Cable acting on the sheave and the weight, and meansto actuate the Cable.

Thus

2. In bell hoisting apparatus, a bell and means to actuate the sameComprising a lever Supporting the bell, a sealing weight, an abutmentupon which the weight may rest, a Cable acting on the lever and theweight, and means to actuate the Cable.

3. In bell hoisting apparatus, a bell, and means toactuate the same,comprising a lever supporting the bell, a sealing weight, multiplyingsheaves mounted on the lever and weight, a Cable 'acting on the sheaves,and means to actuate the Cable.

4. Inbell hoisting apparatus, a bell, and means to actuate the same,comprising a lever supporting the bell, a sealing weight, an abutment onwhich the weight may rest, sheaves on the lever and the weight, a Cablearranged with one end fast, and the other end led around and embracingthe sheaves, and means to actuate the Cable.

5. In a bell hoisting apparatus, the combination of means to open andClose the bell, Comprising a lever, one arm of which is adapted tosuspend a sealing weight and the other arm the bell, a sealing weight, adrum, and a hoisting Cable, one end of the Cable being passed over thearm that carries' the sealing weight and made fast to the latter, andthe other end of the Cable passed around the drum, and means to rotatethe drum, to raise the weight to lift the bell to seat it and. to lowerthe weight to lower the bell to unseat it.

6. In bell hoisting apparatus, a bell, a lever supporting the same, asheave on the lever, a stationary sheave, a Cable passing over thesheaves and acting on the lever, and weights on the Cable and means toactuate the Cable and weights.

7. In bell hoisting apparatus, a bell, a lever supporting the same, aCable acting on the lever, a hitch at one end of the Cable fast to thelever and actuating means for the Cable at the opposite end thereof anda sealing weight between the lever and the actuating means for theCable.

8. In bell hoisting apparatus, a selfopening bell, a seat therefor, alever Supporting the fbell, and means to Seal the bell against and tounseal the same from its seat, Comprising a weight, an abutment on whichthe weight may rest, and means to move the weight into and out ofSuspension from the lever, by moving the weight out of and into rest onthe abutment.

9. In bell hoisting apparatus, a self-opening bell, a seat therefor, alever supporting the bell, and means to Seal the bell against, and tounseal the same from its seat, comprising a weight, an abutment'on whichthe weight may rest, and means to move the weight into and out ofSuspension from the lever, comprising -a Cable connecting the weightwith the lever, and means to actuate the Cable.

10. In bell hoisting apfparatus, a selfopening bell, a seat 'there r, alever supporting the'bell, 'and means to seal the bell against, and tounseal the same from its seat comprising a sheave on the lever, aweight, a Cable passing over the sheave and acting on the weightto movethe latter into and out of suspension'from the lever.

11. In bell hoisting apparatus, a selfopening bell, a seat therefor, aweight to hold the bell sealed against its seat, an abutment on whichthe weight may rest, a hoisting apparatus to move the weight and holdthe same suspended ofl the abutment, and automatic means to halt thehoisting mechanism When the weight has been moved a predetermined,distance ofi the abutment.

12. In bell hoisting apparatus, a selfopening bell, a seat therefor, aweight to hold the bell sealed against its seat, an abutment on whichthe weight may rest, an electric' hoisting 'apparatus to move the weightand to hold the same suspended off the abutment, and electrical contactscontrolled by the weight to cause a halting of the hoisting apparatus,when the weight has been moved 'a predetermined distance off theabutment.

13. In bell hoisting apparatus, a selfopening bell, a seat therefor, aweight to .hold the bell sealed 'against its seat, an electric hoistingapparatus, including a resistance to varythe motor field to actuate thebell and the weight, and electrical contacts for Cutting out the saidresistance Controlled by the hoisting apparatus to reduce the speed ofthe latter during the movement of the weight.

14. In bell hoisting apparatus, a selfopening bell, fa seat therefor, anelectric hoisting apparatus, including 'a resistance to vary the fieldof the motor to close the bell, and electrical'contacts for Cutting outthe said resistance |and Controlled by the hoisting apparatus to reducethe speed of the l'atter when the bell is brought into contact withitsseat.

15. In 'bell hoisting apparatus, a selfopening bell, a seat therefor, aweight to hold the bell sealed against its seat, an abutment on whichthe weight m'ay rest, automatic means to lift the weight a predetermineddistance ofl the abutment irrespective of obstructions between .the belland its seat, fand automatic means to effect a closure of the bell whenthe obstructions become dislodged.

16. In bell hoisting ap aratus, a selfopening bell, a seat therefhr, aweight to hold the bell sealed against its seat, an abutment on whichthe weight m'ay rest, automatic means to lift the weight apredetermin'ed distance off the abutment irrespective ofl obstructionsbetween the bell and its seat, and means Controlled by the weight toautomatically effect a closure of the bell when the obstructions becomedislodged.

17. In bell' hoisting apparatus, a selfopening bell, a seat therefor, aweight to hold the bell sealed against its seat, an abutment on whichthe weight may rest, an electric hoisting apparatus to actuate the bell,and to seal the bell against, and to unseal the same from its seat byraising and lowering the weight from and into engagement with theabutment, and electrical contacts Constituting a switch to the hoistingmotor Controlled by the weight, to cause the latter to be raised aprcdetermined distance off the abutment irrespective of obstructionsbetween the bell and its seat, and to cause a closure of the bell whenthe obstructions become dislodged.

18. In a bell hoisting apparatus, the combination' of a lever, a sealmgweight for the bell, suspended on one arm of the lever, and the bell onthe other arm thereof, and a drum rotatable to lift the bell and thesealing weight, a hoisting Cable on the drum and free y embracing thesaid arm adapted to move both relatively to and absolutely of the saidlever and connect together the lever, the sealing wei ht and the drum,and upon rotation, to li t the bell and the sealing weight, and, in caseof an obstruction preventing the lifting of the bell to close the same,the continued rotation of the drum will lift the sealing Weight, andthereby avoid undue strain upon the apparatus.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK HYMANS.

Witnesses:

ERNEs'r L. GALE, Jr., HAznL R. GA'rns.

